Partnership for learning with Government schools
In its efforts to strengthen Government Schools in India, CLT has created a dynamic process by effectively bringing together a 3-way collaboration between Government, Non-Government and Corporate sectors for Partnership for Learning.
CLT works very closely with the mainstream education system, the government schools- the only available option for the majority of children. CLT’s programs are designed to strengthen the existing model by supplementing and complementing with our intervention programs.
Current Challenges
Imagine these situations - children do not have access to learning in full-fledged, well-equipped classrooms; the village schools have trouble recruiting good teachers; many teachers don’t have adequate knowledge and training to teach Science, Math and English.
Every child has the right to education. That can be realized only with opportunities to learn in their own environment. This is what CLT has been engaged in since 1997.
CLT‘s team of teachers, resource people and volunteers have been devoting their time and talents to transfer the best teaching practices and lesson resources to where the children live!
How do we do that ?
CLT Resource Centre acts as a Hub where teachers and resource people with subject expertise come together to develop repository of localized multi-media content in regional languages that supports all lessons in all subjects for State-Board syllabus. And, our teachers are connected on-line to several remote classrooms simultaneously with the aid of an interactive software platform to deliver the lessons. The learning environment is very dynamic, as the teachers can share content, use White Board for explanations and students can interact with live discussions! CLT uses the technology platform from Cisco Systems – a pioneer in networking and communications – to connect to remote schools.
Children’s Resource Centre
Integrating Technology-aided curricula-based learning in Government Schools
Year 2008 marks ten years for CLT and it has made some headways in coming up with simple, local solutions to give access to quality education for children in under-served communities. CLT’s e-Patashale initiative - another layer of support system for the State Board Schools is just that!
Teachers’ Resource Centre
We transform the way kids learn 4 ways.
Content Development: Development of localized multi-media content to support State Board syllabus.
Education Delivery: Through online interactive teaching from our teachers to far away schools.
DVD Libraries: Setting up DVD libraries in many schools -Short videos of lesson-modules taught in an innovative way with a lot of visuals.
CLT After-school Centre: An innovative and exploratory Technology Lab - CLT Computer Clubhouse – an After-school mentoring program for children and youth.
Field Trip
Other Support to government schools
In addition to making learning more enjoyable and relevant with easy to understand learning modules, kids are also exposed to Art and Theatre and Summer Camps. Many children receive extra pairs of uniforms, shoes, school supplies and field trips, as well. Over the years, CLT has also engaged in school mid-day meal programs, extra classrooms, bathrooms and drinking water.The Resource Centre also has regular workshops for teacher-mediation with technology.
Our efforts are to build a replicable, scalable and sustainable education model to respond to severe shortage of teachers, lack of subject expertise and inadequate classroom resources in Indian government schools. Our initiative is to give affordable access to quality education for all children anywhere anytime.
CLT is engaged in supporting State Board schools with development of curricula-based e-learning modules. The content is localized, keeping the rural background of most of our children in government schools.
With CLT’s digital learning initiative, e-Patashale as an intervention program, we aim to transform inert class-rooms into inspired learning communities and accelerate the digital inclusion of rural schools by simple local solutions. Our aim is to build an inclusive model, where we could expand the knowledge base. Currently, the content is being used in schools, after-school programs and other non-formal learning centres. Few NGOs are using the content as bridge-course to connect the drop-outs to mainstream. CLT has provided content, teachers’ training and infrastructure support.
The important milestone is how we are able to transcend barriers to bring about a shift to build a community of learners, where it is not defined by the space or structures or economics.
About CLT e-Patashale Initiative :-
- Enable a key process to bring a shift from ‘teacher-delivery’ to ‘learner-engaged’ environment.
- To bring about seamless integration of ICT Tools with black-board teaching.
- An inclusive model that is affordable and accessible.
- Developing e-content repository to support curricula-based lessons for the teachers, by the teachers where textbook content is reengineered and delivered with more value-additions. It is about capturing best pedagogical practices and subject-expertise of good teachers into short videos.
- The content is contextual and is close to what they are learning at school that can be absorbed into the existing learning environment.
- The focus is on localization with familiar usage of language, relevant images and examples.
- Short videos of Hands-on Science Experiments.
Teacher's Training
Content Sample
During school intervention
CLT connects teachers to number of remote schools for Elementary, Middle and High schools for Science, Maths, Social Science and English. With multiple teaching sessions, our teachers are able to interact with many students simultaneously and teach online.
After-school intervention
Through this program, we are able to assist many youth members that are under the Social Welfare Developmental program. The primary focus of this intervention program is to give the 10th graders a heads-up in Science, Math and English and get them ready to appear for the State Board exams. Many youth hostels are connected to CLT teachers in the evenings!
Village DVD libraries have been set up to give access to customized e-lesson resources in schools and in after-school environment. Many kids borrow the DVDs to learn at home.
It also helps as a support tool for teacher-mediation; as filler where the teacher might not have in-depth subject-expertise and for self-directed learning for kids.
Impact: Transformational and Inspired Learning Environment
What Teachers Say.. “Increases aptitude.. comprehension.. Cognitive skills.. Classroom dynamics.. Analytical skills, retention better.. “
How Kids Learn.. “ Understand concepts better with localized multi-media tools, association with facts easier, more fun to learn… ”
Why Parents want it.. “ I used to think I had to send my kids for private schools and tuition for quality education. Now, I feel he gets the same benefits.. “
The clubhouse is like an invention workshop for the village children in the age group of 9 to 19, giving them access to technology with design software and mentoring program. The Clubhouse encourages constructivist learning approach which helps youth develop life-long learning skills and foster creativity. Youth who visit the Computer Clubhouse learn by doing. They create digital artwork, produce their own music CDs, film, write and edit their own short movies, and design websites.
CLT offers safe after-school space for kids to come together to explore their own ideas and build strong relationships with adult mentors. Computer Clubhouse at CLT, in partnership with Boston Museum of Science, MIT Media-Lab and Intel Foundation is an After-school drop-in place for the youth, where kids from under-served communities come together in informal settings to develop and drive their own ideas in an innovative and exploratory setting.
The learning environment is supportive and the mode is self-directed, peer-peer learning facilitated by mentors. Although technology is central to the program, it is youth development program at its best, where young people gain confidence in developing problem-solving skills in a collaborative learning environment and build relationships with each other and adult mentors. In today’s context, youth face social exclusion without ‘Digital Inclusion.’ The CLT Clubhouse bridges this gap by extending learning beyond school.
CLT Computer Clubhouse is a part of Intel Computer Clubhouse Network – an international community of 100 Computer Clubhouses located in 20 different countries around the world. The Computer Clubhouse provides a creative and safe out-of-school learning environment where young people from underserved communities work with adult mentors to explore their own ideas, develop skills, and build confidence in themselves through the use of technology.
Read about how the Computer Clubhouse provides youth with practical 21st Century Skills – priming them for success! Visit & Amazon.com to purchase for a discount.
Revathi, Adesh, and Sunil (ReAdS) defied all set boundaries in their limited learning environment in their rural government school. They participated in a Teen Summit in Boston with 300 youth members from across the globe. This 8th, 9th and 11th graders were perfect examples of how an initiative like CLT's learning enhancement and the After-school Computer Clubhouse programs could enable them to emerge as confident learners! Three more girls- Asiya, Manjula and Padma participated in 2008, followed by Sachin in 2010!
This spark inspired CLT to start a college fund that would support the government school kids to continue their education after finishing High school.. Extend your support to ReAdS and set off another SPARK!
Clubhouse-to-Career:
This initiative is targeted to those youth just finishing high school and older and might not have a 4-year degree program in mind.
The aim of C2C is to give exposure to career options like photography / film and music editing / web designing / Desktop publishing / animation / screen printing, etc. It also helps youth members to sharpen their skills to make career options.
- Skill-building processes
- Career Counselling
- Placement help and guidance
- Scholarship programs
The Teen Summit is a biennial event that includes opportunities for Clubhouse youth to express their ideas with high-end technologies, such as graphic design, video animation, digital art, music, radio and documentary film-making and 3-D modelling. Each Teen Summit takes place on a university campus in Boston, Massachusetts, and includes a college and career fair, collaborative activities with youth from around the world, and many other opportunities for educational, career and personal growth. Youth members from CLT Clubhouse have been participating regularly, showcasing their work and culture with 300 youth members from around the world!
Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) enables young people to use cutting-edge multimedia and digital tools to communicate and share their ideas. In the beginning of 2008, Adobe and the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network established a partnership to implement the AYV program in a select number of Clubhouses.
CLT Computer Clubhouse is a part of this initiative since 2008
Culture-Sense
Sub Content7 to be added
“… Shows effective utilization of partnerships and the broader community to better the Clubhouse ..” – CLT Bangalore India
“… Ever since it opened its Clubhouse’s doors, CLT has placed an emphasis on partnerships to ensure the sustainability of its Clubhouse. CLT views partners in a holistic manner: Long-term mentors get their institutions excited about the Clubhouse, leading to new partnerships. Corporate sponsorship activities lead to mentors. International schools send students to fulfill community service commitments. And all of these partnerships – large or small, individual or institutional – spread the word about the Clubhouse while supporting CLT….”
This is where they all hang out when the school closes for the day and they need a place of their own to unwind. Computer Clubhouse fosters a creative learning environment where members come together to explore on their own ideas either individually or with peers. Mentors guide them to find an expression for their ideas through interesting projects using technology, art, video cameras, and music. Members actively participate in discussions about community issues and their participation. Sometimes, these ideas are reflected in short documentary films that are showcased to the community!
Clubhouse projects
Bryce Software Project
PHOTOSHOP WORK
CLT Resource Centre works with CLT Computer Clubhouse to reach out to women to learn to use computers to use it in their everyday life. CLT has set aside special days of the week with specified time-slots just for women. Some come to just know about what everyone is talking about, while others would like to learn how to use Search Engines to access information. Yet others that are in late teens or early twenty have come to pick up skills to upgrade their job prospects.
CLT has also set up women’s tailoring training centers.
"Connect....
Communicate....
Collaborate....
Strengthen your organization with partnerships.
Make sure all team members connect to the
Vision and Mission"
>>The CLT way
- Share your dream and let it be shaped and owned by everyone.
- Let your ideas be fluid.
- Make your ideas and programs visible, direct and easy.
- Encourage community participation so they understand, feel and experience.
- Identify interested and committed "Community volunteers".
- Give community volunteers specific roles and spheres of control.
- Build overall awareness towards the children's right to education.
- Encourage direct involvement of the community in the development of schools.
- Empower the community to ensure that they begin to "own the programs".
CLT has been involved in the following programs to strengthen the communities of the children
>>Awareness programs
Good Parenting Practices
Health awareness
Personal hygiene, immunization, first aid, water borne diseases, drinking water and sanitation, and health & hygiene for adolescent girls.
Social awareness
Family Life Education, awareness on social and legal issues.
Economic awareness
Thrift and credit, entrepreneurship, market survey and bank linkages
>>Rainwater Harvesting
CLT has done a lot of work on the advocacy of conservation of water and Rainwater Harvesting as a possible viable option. Many schools have visited CLT to learn about the practices.
CLT has also built close to 100 rainwater storage tanks for the village communities. Creating these water reserves has made water available for daily use, eliminated young girls from staying back from schools to fetch water from faraway places and revived Potters’ communities in some villages, as well!
>>Tsunami Community-rebuilding project - Tamil Nadu
The Village school in Arcottuturai, Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, was washed away with the Tsunami wave that hit it in 2004. The village was devastated and the 450 children from the surrounding villages were left with no school.
CLT India, in partnership with Intel, worked with the community to rebuild a school community. The school building has classes from 1 to 10th grades with a library, computer lab, amphitheater and a community learning center.
>>CLT has also undertaken other developmental work for the community :
Formation of Self-help group for the fishermen's group Facilitating Micro credit for the fishermen's group Income generating skill development workshop for women
Women’s Learning Extension Program
Everyday, between 11 A.M. and 1 P.M., you could find women in different age groups coming to the Jakkur Center to learn to use computers. Some come to just know about what everyone is talking about, while others would like to learn how to use Search Engines to access information. Yet others that are in late teens or early twenty have come to pick up skills to upgrade their job prospects. Monthly events with special guest speakers are organized.